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The Minister for Environment & Forests, Thiru A. Raja will inaugurate here tomorrow the meeting of delegates from 30 countries to endorse the Central Asian Flyway Action Plan to conserve migratory water birds and their habitats.
The Central Asian Flyway (CAF) covers a large continental area of Eurasia between the Arctic and Indian Oceans and the associated island chains. The Flyway comprises several important migration routes of waterbirds, most of which extend from the northernmost breeding grounds in Russia (Siberia) to the southernmost non-breeding (wintering) grounds in West and South Asia, the Maldives and the British Indian Ocean Territory. The birds on their annual migration cross the borders of several countries. Geographically the flyway region covers 30 countries of North, Central and South Asia and Trans-Caucasus. The meeting is being organized, under the auspices of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), with the help of the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India, Wetlands International, International Crane Foundation (ICF), and Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. More than 80 participants from over 30 countries from Central, East and South-Asia and the Trans-Caucasian region are expected to participate in this meeting.
The meeting is likely to develop a mechanism to increase interaction and international co-operation between Governments in the Central Asian Flyway region, review conservation status of water birds and their habitats, finalize and endorse a “Central Asian Flyway Action Plan to conserve migratory water birds and their habitats”. The meeting will further review and confirm preference of countries in the region of a legal and institutional framework for implementation of the Action Plan and identify priority actions for implementation.
The deliberations will cover conservation measures for over 175 species of migratory water birds, including 26 globally threatened and near threatened water birds migrating between these countries. The meeting will develop an Action Plan for the conservation of Siberian Crane, migratory ducks and geese, storks, pelicans, flamingos and waders.
AKS
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